I can’t believe how quickly Christmas is coming around this year. I feel like summer was only a blink ago, and now I’m writing about Secret Santa and worrying about when the hell am I going to actually fit my Christmas shopping in as I have no free weekend between now and the 25th. Thank god for online shopping.
I’m going to be taking part in a John Lewis campaign called ‘Give With Love’, where bloggers are paired up and get to choose a Secret Santa gift for each other anonymously. I’ve taken part in blogger Secret Santa’s before and it’s so much fun, plus I love discovering new blogs to read and it’s a great way to do so!
The campaign is due to kick off tomorrow, so I’ll be receiving my blogger and finding something for him or her this week which is exciting! I’ve taken part in so many Secret Santa’s over the past few years, both at work and with friends, and I like to think I’m pretty good at getting the perfect gift so I thought I’d give my pennies on how to be a good Secret Santa.
Stalk, stalk, stalk!
It’s the age of the World Wide Web; if your Secret Santa partner doesn’t have their likes and dislikes out there on some form of blog, social media or article, I’d be surprised. There’s nothing worse than an impersonal Secret Santa gift (wine, chocolate, etc) to make someone feel crap so get online and find out what they’re into.
Listen
Although you can’t directly ask the person you’re getting a gift what they want, you can listen carefully to what they talk to you about and see if it gives any clues. Anything they’re passionate about is likely to come up in conversation, and you can use this as inspiration for gift ideas.
Stick to the budget
All Secret Santa swaps have budgets, whether it’s £5 or £50, and you shouldn’t be swaying really more than 10% either side of this. Spend too much and you make other people look bad, spend too little and your partner doesn’t get the present they deserve. If you’re struggling, you can always get little add ons to make up any money you have leftover.
Don’t leave it until last minute
Leaving your Secret Santa to last minute is a recipe for ending up with a generic, lame gift you had to pick up from Tesco on your way to work. Give yourself at least two weeks to find and buy the perfect gift – this should be enough time to glean out some information and find a present which suits!
Look for inspiration
Sometimes going out shopping without a gift idea in mind can really leave you drawing up blanks. There are loads of Christmas gift guides out there on blogs and magazines (I’ll be posting a few in the next couple of weeks!) which have some great ideas, and Instagram is great for finding cute gift ideas, especially when it comes to beauty, stationary and home decor!
Have you got any tips for being the perfect Secret Santa? I think I’ve covered most of the bases but if you have anything to add on, let me know in the comments!
